NOVEL'S EXTRA: I Will Die at the Peak-Chapter 54: wake up ????

Ravien was still drifting in the void. It was impossible to tell how much time had passed. There was no sound, no sense of direction.

It felt like hours had gone by... yet his body remained motionless; his mind, however, was vividly awake.

(POV Ravien)

I’m really tired of being here. I can’t wake up. Nothing is happening. I’m completely still, but my consciousness is wide awake—my thoughts won’t stop.

Now I understand, so clearly, that I need to be more careful the next time I create a living being. Remaining in this "sleep" state for so long... it’s unbearable. It feels like I’m imprisoned inside my own mind.

Then, a light appeared in the darkness. It was distant, yet steady. Its brightness wasn’t blinding, but it was striking—impossible to ignore. I began gliding toward it—naturally, without needing to choose a direction.

As I got closer, I started to see the area within the light more clearly.

The first thing that caught my attention was where the figure was sitting. The ground—or what I could call "ground" in that moment—was split perfectly in half.

One side was pure white, the other black as pitch. Sitting exactly on the line where the two colors met was a figure.

I couldn’t make out their face, but they were definitely there. They sat in complete silence. Their body, like the ground beneath them, was half white and half black.

It didn’t look like paint; it felt as though their very essence was formed from this stark duality.

They just sat there. Completely still. The face was still obscured, yet I could feel their presence.

I looked at them—and it felt like they were looking back at me.

Suddenly, the figure stood up in silence.

The surface beneath their feet rippled slightly, like a puddle disturbed by a step.

The line where black and white met trembled with the movement, as if the very concept of duality was alive and reacting to them.

The color division on their body remained unchanged. The white side glowed faintly, while the black side almost completely absorbed the light.

At the point where these two halves met, there was a subtle, almost imperceptible tension.

The figure turned toward me without saying a word.

When they reached me, a thin line appeared on their face. It opened silently.

That narrow slit, forming down the center of their face, soon took the shape of a mouth.

Without any expression, they smiled—first with their gaze, then with that mouth. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The silence deepened.

The smile wasn’t natural, but it wasn’t exactly disturbing either. My eyes were locked onto that expression.

I couldn’t move forward, nor could I retreat.

There was a strange weight in that smile—just a few seconds long, but heavy.

And then...

Everything shattered.

The ground collapsed. The figure unraveled. The light went out.

The room was dim, but not completely dark.

Three different streams of light filtered in through the window.

One of the two suns hanging near the horizon glowed in yellow-orange hues, while the other had a pale, almost white tint. High above in the sky, a newly risen moon shone with a faint green color.

The light from these three sources struck the shattered glass scattered across the room, scattering and spreading it within.

The glass shards strewn across the wooden floor redirected the incoming light, casting shapes in various tones on the walls, the ceiling, and the surfaces of the furniture.

The lights didn’t mix with one another—they followed their own distinct paths.

There was no fixed brightness in the room—on every surface the light touched, a different color, a different motion appeared. In the silence, only these lights moved.

Ravien lay on his back in the center of a massive bed. The bed was wide enough to comfortably fit three people.

The sheets were neat, but faint impressions around his body showed he had been lying there for a long time. His long red hair spilled over the pillow, spreading in every direction across the bed.

The chair beside the bed faced the window.

Asogi was leaning back into the seat. His hands were clasped together on his knees, and his eyes were watching the view outside.

There was no expression on his face, but a sharp focus could be seen in his demeanor. He was utterly still, as if waiting for a signal.

The cool breeze flowing through the window gently stirred Asogi’s hair.

The body lying on the bed stirred slightly.

The shoulders shifted—so subtly it was almost imperceptible. Then, the fingers of the left hand slowly tensed. Breathing changed for a moment; it grew deeper, more deliberate.

And in that moment, Ravien’s eyes opened.

It was a seamless, direct awakening.

His gaze fixed on the ceiling. He didn’t move—he only stared.

The orange light hitting the ceiling, combined with reflections slipping through a shattered window, formed translucent, shifting patterns on the surface.

Ravien watched these shapes for a few seconds.

I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling for a while. It wasn’t empty... It felt like my awakening wasn’t quite complete. A strange weight lingered inside me.

That black-and-white figure still haunted my mind. Was it a dream or not? I couldn’t tell. But that moment when it smiled... it left something inside me. A feeling I couldn’t name.

Ignoring the strange sensation, I slowly sat up.

For a moment, I glanced around. This is my room. Everything’s familiar... and yet, something feels out of place. I should’ve been in the room where I created that being. Why am I here now? Did something happen while I was unconscious?

As I moved, Asogi, who had been sitting motionless in the chair beside my bed, stirred. He turned his head suddenly and looked at me.

"Fa... father! You’re finally... awake."

His voice was unexpectedly filled with emotion. Not quite joy, not quite relief. It lingered somewhere in between.

Ravien turned toward the source of the voice. Asogi sat in his chair, staring at him. His eyes were steady and focused.

Compared to before, there was a depth to his gaze. He was the same person—but his expression had settled, matured. There was clarity in his eyes now.

Ravien raised a hand to his head, pushing his hair back. He took a deep breath.

"Asogi... Why am I in my room? Did... something happen while I was asleep?"

Asogi lowered his head. His lips moved slightly before he responded. Then he spoke, without turning his gaze toward his father.

"He brought you here... the being you created."

His voice was clear, but there was a faint tremor in it. Not a fragile tone—but the echo of a feeling held back.

So, the being had been completed without issues. But something in Asogi’s voice... something was missing.

Ravien spoke again.

"There’s something. What happened, Asogi?"

This time, Asogi lifted his head. He looked his father straight in the eyes. For the first time—without hiding, without hesitation.

"Was I not enough for you?" he asked. "Why... why did you feel the need to create someone else?"

Ravien was caught off guard by Asogi’s question.

He couldn’t understand why Asogi had reacted that way.

(POV: Ravien)

I didn’t expect Asogi to speak like that.

Still, there were times—through his gaze or his words—when I sensed a strange sense of possession toward me.

It was as if he was jealous... or trying to become like me.

But in those moments, I never paid it much attention.

I never imagined things would escalate to this point.

I guess we’ve finally reached a breaking point.

His eyes were locked onto mine. He was waiting for an answer.

"Ahh... Asogi. Look, you’re my first intelligent creation. I’ve told you that before. Of course I’m going to create new beings. I’m forming a special group... and you’ll be a part of it."

My words were clear, but his eyes still stared into emptiness.

He wasn’t satisfied.

"I—"

He tried to speak, but no words followed.

Even he didn’t know what he was trying to say.

He didn’t want to oppose me, but it was obvious something inside him was restless.

I knew what I had to do.

These kinds of things weren’t really my forte.

But in the end, he was my creation.

Fixing him, stabilizing him... that was my responsibility.

I got out of bed.

Quietly, I walked over to him.

I stood before him and placed my hand on his head.

"You’re my first child. That’s why I expect you to be more mature. Jealous tantrums, reckless outbursts... they don’t suit you.

More importantly, they don’t suit the one who created you—me."

Those words shattered something inside Asogi.

His pupils widened.

His breathing grew uneven.

His shoulders trembled.

With my hand on his head, I felt a subtle ripple beneath his hair.

His skin quivered in tiny pulses.

His energy wanted to burst out—but he was holding it back, consciously.

It was the first time he had heard the word "child."

Spoken from Ravien’s mouth, that word became the sharpest definition of his existence.

"F–fath..."

His voice broke—fragile, almost fractured.

Right in the midst of that strange and emotional atmosphere—while Ravien’s fingers still rested on Asogi’s head—a sinister whisper echoed from the direction of the window:

"Zeen... Zeen... Zeen..."

Ravien swiftly turned his head toward the sound, toward the broken window.

And there it was—the newly created being.

Suddenly, a cold, emotionless voice spoke:

"Ah, father... You’re finally awake. I was starting to get bored of flying around for hours."

It stood at nearly two and a half meters tall; its entire body was pure white, with an almost seamless, smooth texture.

Its surface was patterned with black cracks, as if the result of a deliberate, conscious design. Its torso was long, muscular, and elegant.

Its eyes shimmered between red and black, reflecting no emotion whatsoever. Though its facial features resembled a human’s, not a single detail marked it as truly human.

Two long black horns curved backward from its head, merging with white hair that cascaded down its back—forming an extraordinary silhouette.

The massive black wings extending from its shoulders were featherless, possessing an almost metallic texture.

Its entire form was not born of nature, but shaped by a conscious mind—crafted into flawless unity.